Cam Smith is oblivious to the winds of unification sweeping global golf but believes the Australian Open can now again dream of being the sport's fifth major.
Smith also says he'd rate another win for his Ripper GC at LIV Golf's Adelaide tournament starting Friday higher than an individual victory at The Grange.
The Australian golf star says while he spends no time pondering an apparent soothing of relations between LIV Golf and the US PGA Tour, he's rapt at changes to the Australian Open.
Golf Australia has scrapped staging the open as a dual gender tournament and from this year will return to stand-alone men's and women's events.
Smith, who led a chorus of disapproval at the dual gender format staged over the past three years, hoped the tournament would again be held in Melbourne.
"They have some great golf courses that people want to play," Smith told reporters on Thursday in Adelaide.
"Not only do we want to come down and play and obviously support our event, I think it lends itself to have a stronger field, having more guys come down here and play the Australian Open and let it be the event that it once was.
"You look at the names on that trophy through the 80s and 90s, it's incredible.
"And it seems like somewhere that got lost.
"I definitely want it to be the best that it can be and be the fifth major, it'd be unbelievable.
"But we have got to start somewhere and hopefully this is the starting point."
Smith's Ripper GC teammate and fellow Australian Lucas Herbert also backed the change.
"We would have loved to have seen an Australian Open venue play a little differently from what it was and I think we were a little handcuffed, as well, from having the women play with us," Herbert said.
"The ideal course set-up for them and the ideal course set-up for us is a little different.
"I don't think you should set up the courses the same way because it's not fair to either gender ... it's a great move that we're now splitting the Australian Opens."
Smith, asked if he was paying attention to this week's talk of unification drawing closer between his LIV Golf circuit and the US PGA Tour, succinctly replied: "No."
The 31-year-old is the top Australian drawcard at LIV Golf's Adelaide tournament, which his Ripper GC won last year in a play-off.
Smith, the 2022 British Open champion, rated last year's team victory in Adelaide as among his career highlights.
"I have been in a lot of stressful situations throughout my golf career," he said.
"But nothing has felt like that before because I feel like we were playing for all of Australia, they all wanted us to win ... and it was so much fun to do that.
"And if we could replicate that again this week, I would 100 per cent take it over an individual (win).
"It was just so much fun to be in front of that home crowd, not only screaming our name but chanting 'Ripper' and 'you little Ripper'. It was epic."
